Nadal: Give me more time, Don't Judge me!

He'll never do what's right to keep himself injury free. He is again playing doubles in Brasil, even though he doesn't need to. I have been a fan of this guy for 8 years now and he has always been a bonehead when it comes to taking care of his body with decent scheduling so he doesn't overplay. It's part of the reason his career is over already at just 26 years old.

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yes......he's a thickskull when it comes to scheduling........doubles adds nothing to his singles game.......it's been proven over and over, yet he never learns........

he easily donated five or more slams to federer and djokovic so far, starting from wimbledon 2007.......

Millions and millions of fans are waiting just to see Rafa on court. Even in Chile he was treated like a very special person. I don't care if he doesn't win the next 3 matches as long as I can download his tournaments. Many of us have missed him a great deal. His eccentricities also. His presence when he walks on court reminds me so much of Borg and like many of his fans we all wish him well and back to being Rafa, one of the greatest tennis players of all time

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nadal will be back to his best by montecarlo........he will be unstoppable at roland garros this year........he simply cannot be defeated on that court........

But was it the flu or not that caused him to skip? As far as I can tell, his knee was fine enough to play Australia. What am I missing? Notice the word "Therefore"

"My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well, as predicted by the doctors, but this virus didn't allow me to practise this past week," Nadal said in a statement.
"Therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled.http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/20859522

But Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, said the issue was proper preparation after such a long break.

With Nadal unable to play next week and unwilling to wear himself out by playing a tournament the week before the Australian Open, he would have made his return to competition in a distant, best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament known for its brutal summer temperatures. Last January, he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic in a match that lasted nearly six hours.

“It is simply not conceivable that his first event is a best-of-five-sets event; he wouldn’t be ready for that,” Toni Nadal said in a statement. “It is true we have been quite unlucky with this, but there is nothing we can do.”

The concern is whether there is more to Nadal’s problems. In an interview with The Times of London last week in Majorca, Nadal acknowledged that the “knee is still not perfect.”

“The doctors say that the images are very good, so that is a big calm for me, but I still feel something,” he said. “I need to be careful. I need to be focused on how the knee is getting better or worse every day and don’t make a mistake that can be negative for my future. Not yet do I have the feeling that I am 100 percent ready to compete, to say, ‘I’m going to go there, I will be ready to run for every ball, to play aggressive, to do what I want with my legs and then try to play my best tennis to win.’ ”

But Pérez-Barbadillo said the virus, not the knee, was the decisive factor in his January withdrawals.

No, it wasn't, and he never said it was. Nor did Benito. You really answer yourself with what you posted. He said the knees were still a problem. That he was going to test them in Abu Dhabi and see how it went from there. He couldn't play Abu Dhabi nor train for days because of the virus, hence what they say about the preparation time.

Well, apparently it was healed in December, remember? Nadal was gonna play the Aus Open if it wasn't for the flu. The knee wasn't a problem at all then...

But some more rest and healing time means it has become a problem now.

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LMAO. Yes, rest and healing time actually makes Nadal's injuries worse and playing competitive tennis apparently heals them. Like his latest comment, "I still feel pain in the knee but the doctors say play is ok" (or something like that) Who knew? Medical miracle this Nadal.

Wilander won his last RG at age 23 - 24th birthday in August.Kuerten won his last RG at age 24 - 25th birthday in September.Borg won his last RG at age 25 - one day after turning 25.Nadal won his last(?) RG at age 26 - eight days after 26th birthday.Lendl is the only one who won RG past his 27th birthday in 1987. His 27th birthday was in March of that year. He won his last RG title 3 months after turning 27.

And you know how exactly that he would have lost those matches?. There's certainly nothing to indicate he would have lost to Fed or Murray. Or Roddick.

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much more likely scenarios than nadal having 'birthright' over those majors and hence supposedly "donating" federer/djoker 5 or more slams since wimbledon 2007 .... did you even read the post I responded to ?

and yes, plenty of things to indicate a high chance that he wouldn't have won those slams

his confidence was shattered after the RG loss in 2009, he wouldn't beat federer/roddick in the form they were in wimbledon 09 unless he was at his very best, in which case he'd have a chance ; he wouldn't be at his best given the RG loss ...

murray clearly outplayed him in AO 2010 & USO 2008

given he was in pretty good form in USO 2012 & AO 2013 , he'd have a good chance of beating rafa there as well ...

That he was going to test them in Abu Dhabi and see how it went from there. He couldn't play Abu Dhabi nor train for days because of the virus, hence what they say about the preparation time.

You just seem to lack reading comprehension skills.

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And you seem both to be rude and lack comprehension skills.

Where did he say
"he was going to test them in Abu Dhabi and see how it went from there" in what I posted?

Benito specifically stated that
We’re not lying to people; we never lie to people; it’s not our style,” he said. “His knees are doing well, but he’s got this thing and this thing has stopped him from practice, from getting everything on track

And Nadal said that:
My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well, as predicted by the doctors, but this virus didn't allow me to practise this past week," Nadal said in a statement.
"Therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled.

And BOTH statements indicate that the virus, not the knees, are what's keeping him from Australia. Because of lack of preparation and training.

You may choose to interpret that as "he didn't get a chance to test the knees", but my interpretation is certainly closer to what they actually said.

Wilander won his last RG at age 23 - 24th birthday in August.Kuerten won his last RG at age 24 - 25th birthday in September.Borg won his last RG at age 25 - one day after turning 25.Nadal won his last(?) RG at age 26 - eight days after 26th birthday.Lendl is the only one who won RG past his 27th birthday in 1987. His 27th birthday was in March of that year. He won his last RG title 3 months after turning 27.

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Great post Fiji,

Lendl did great winning that last RG. I wasnt watching tennis his days, did he ever had big injuries, ever had to take time off?

The game is much more physical nowadays, I doubt he could do it today.

Lendl did great winning that last RG. I wasnt watching tennis his days, did he ever had big injuries, ever had to take time off?

The game is much more physical nowadays, I doubt he could do it today.

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I cannot speak for Fiji, but I don't think Lendl had any major injuries in the heart of his career. He made 8 straight USO finals. He also was credited with bringing fitness into the sport in a major way. He was supremely fit and worked out extensively off the court. I remember reports that he actually spent as much or more time on his fitness training than actually practicing tennis late in his career. His off court training was viewed as innovative for his era. Not to say pros did not work hard during the 80s but most of the work was on court work or light training. Borg would practice tennis 4-5 hours per day in the early 80s.

Nadal's chances to win at RG depend on 2 things: 1. his fitness - can his knees take the stress? and 2. confidence - can he regain confidence?

I thought his movement and confidence looked shaky in Chili. He did not appear to be as fast and he appeared to limp a bit at times. Also, his confidence did not seem to there as he looped a lot of short balls in the final. But, this is his first tournament so he has time to improve.

I cannot speak for Fiji, but I don't think Lendl had any major injuries in the heart of his career. He made 8 straight USO finals. He also was credited with bringing fitness into the sport in a major way. He was supremely fit and worked out extensively off the court. I remember reports that he actually spent as much or more time on his fitness training than actually practicing tennis late in his career. His off court training was viewed as innovative for his era. Not to say pros did not work hard during the 80s but most of the work was on court work or light training. Borg would practice tennis 4-5 hours per day in the early 80s.

Nadal's chances to win at RG depend on 2 things: 1. his fitness - can his knees take the stress? and 2. confidence - can he regain confidence?

I thought his movement and confidence looked shaky in Chili. He did not appear to be as fast and he appeared to limp a bit at times. Also, his confidence did not seem to there as he looped a lot of short balls in the final. But, this is his first tournament so he has time to improve.

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Thanks for the info CJC, I wonder how a thinker like Lendle hadnt been into coaching until recently.

Regarding Nadal's fitness, he is mentally toast. The signs were there..."less passion for the game" .." tired of competition" his case is death by a thousand cuts. He started early and is going to go down early.